To say we were pleased to leave Stilidhos is a bit of an understatement. It had served its purpose in protecting us from some really horrid weather, but the surroundings were grim. However, on a big plus side, we had caught up with Colin and Simoné which was great.

We slipped our lines from this very tight fit of a spot at 7am on the day of my 67th birthday 🤥 and we were heading now for The Sporades – in particular the island of Skiathos .

The Sporades is a group of 24 islands in the northwest Aegean Sea. Four of them – Skiathos, Skopelos, Skyros and Alonnisos are inhabited. The diving and snorkelling is second to none and the islands are known for their beautiful beaches and densely wooded terrain. Alonnisos is now a marine park, home to dolphins and monk seals.

On leaving Stilidhos we saw our first pod of dolphins for a long while. My birthday treat!!!
A passage of 25 nm but no wind and a very glassy sea. However we had tide which helped push us along. If we have to use the engine it is always more comfortable and certainly more economical on a flat sea rather than punching through swell and big waves.

We did an overnight stop in a beautiful anchorage (Ormos Pteloù) in the Gulf of Volos which we had completely to ourselves and had the best night's sleep in a long while. No wind. No sea state. No mosquitoes. No traffic noise. No barking dogs. No light pollution. We had all the windows and hatches open. It was a cool night - so very welcome.

The island of Skiathos is well known for its beaches and a buzzing youth-driven night life scene. Skiathos town is the epicentre where bars and tavernas spill out onto the pavements along the old harbour and the main pedestrian thoroughfare. Whatever your penchant for nightlife, this is the place with all-night clubs as well as lounge bars.

Again we had no wind so we were on the engine for the 22 mile passage but we did see more dolphins and Andreas caught a fish for supper! Yay !!!

We anchored in a lovely bay - Ormos Siferi - close to the beach with just a handful of other yachts. Next day we took the dinghy around to the port and had a wander about. I can best describe Skiathos as a mini Mykonos. Small alleyways littered with shops selling ‘stuff' that the Greeks seem to think tourists must buy and in fact, after a while we realised that we were seeing the same ‘stuff' in most shops. We were, I'm afraid to say, underwhelmed.

Muse for this post: we don't care what diesel costs. We're still using our f*****g boat !!!! LOL 😂